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Episode 856: The Biggest Baseball-Watchers Edition
Date April 6, 2016 Summary Ben and Sam banter about Rich Hill, a controversial game-ending call, and bad baseball ads, then answer listener emails about unfun facts, Theo Epstein’s future, and who’s seen the most major league baseball. Topics * Opening day 'fun' facts * Person who has seen the most baseball games * 3 inning saves * Theo Epstein's next career move * World Series betting strategy Intro Ten Years After, "Over the Hill" Outro Johnny Nash, "There Are More Questions Than Answers" Banter * Sam hosted a Reddit AMA and told Ben, "Their questions are better than yours" * Rich Hill contract predictions. Sam says he would not commit more than $22.5 million to Rich Hill right now. * Jose Bautista's breakup slide in game against Tampa Bay Rays. * Andrelton Simmons' latest defensive highlight * Episode 554 follow-up: The law firm has a new radio ad that refers to 'second year magic'. Sam wonders if the Giants have trademarked the phrase 'even year'. * Cell phone ad with Jason Statham Email Questions * Brian: "I was listening to yesterday's Red Sox-Indians opener. Shortly after Mookie Betts' home run Red Sox radio broadcaster unleashed the following declaration: 'Mookie Betts just became the first Rex Sox player to homer in multiple opening days before the age of 24.' We have in this statistic the following: use of arbitrary point in time for considering opening day more important than any other game. Limiting that stat to a single franchise, use of additional arbitrary factor (age) and how they decide on 24 is even more puzzling. Perhaps there was a 25 year old who had done it. Am I overreacting to how bad this is? Are you aware of any stats or bits of trivia that are worse?" * Gordon: "Is Vin Scully the person to have seen the most MLB games? I'd think 60+ years would win but he's cut down his workload lately. Maybe the postseasons he called make up for that. The only person I can think of would be Connie Mack but I'm probably missing some candidates. Does the answer change if we include games watched on TV?" * Nick: "So let's say the Cubs do win the World Series this year. What could possibly be next for Theo Epstein in the long-term? You've ended the two most famous title droughts in the sport, maybe in all of sports, for two of the marquee clubs in the majors. You are a team president. Is there anywhere left to go? Do you just stay the Cubs' president forever and just bask in the glory? Do you wait for some other long suffering team to come along and offer you a ton of money to try and win them a championship as their president? Do you ditch baseball and try to end famous title droughts in other sports? Jump to Google or some other non-sports company to conquer their issues? Theo is only 42, he could easily have another 25-30 years in front of him in his career and if he manages to win one with the Cubs I'm having a hard time thinking about where he goes from there. What say you guys? If you were Theo what would you consider a worthy next challenge? Hell, what would you even consider a promotion?" * Eric: "If you were offered a bet where you can bet on as many teams to win the World Series as you want with your opponent getting the field, what is the minimum number of teams you would feel comfortable taking? BP's playoff odds have the top 5 teams combining for a greater than 50% chance of wining the championship but I think I would still take the field." Play Index * Sam uses the Play Index to find out how common a 3-inning save is. * During the 1990s there were about 45 3-inning saves per season. * In 2010 there were only 4 3-inning saves. * Brett Anderson is the only active player with more than two 3-inning saves. He got all of them within a 10 day span. Notes * Ben and Sam are frustrated by supposed 'fun facts' that have far too many specific qualifiers given to them. * MLB historian John Thorn thinks that Connie Mack is likely to have seen the most MLB games. Ben and Sam think if not Mack or Scully it is likely to be a longtime broadcaster or beat writer. Links * Effectively Wild Episode 856: The Biggest Baseball-Watchers Edition * Bryant's RBI groundout * Sam Miller Reddit AMA Category:Episodes Category:Email Episodes